2019aa07

20 JULY 2019 • WWW.AAGLA.ORG PROPOSITION 65 UPDATE: New Safe Harbor Warnings Required for California’s Rental Housing By Jamie Sternberg, Esq. Recent changes to Proposition 65’s “safe harbor” warning guidelines may impact residential rental property owners. Effective July 1, 2019 , new Sections 25607.34 and 25607.35 will become effective. They require Proposition 65 warnings be provided to new tenants and other adult occupants (and again each year during the tenancy). The warnings must be in a specific format (which is new) and delivered in specific ways. Additionally, effective August 30, 2018 , new warning signs were required to be posted in: (i) enclosed parking facilities; and (ii) designated smoking areas. California rental property owners should discontinue Proposition 65 signage and/or lease language that they previously utilized, and instead follow the safe harbor warnings specified in the new safe harbor warning guidelines. California requires businesses with ten or more employees to warn employees and the public regarding potential exposures to chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) maintains and updates a list of chemicals requiring warnings. There are hundreds of chemicals on the list, available at https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/proposition-65-list. Some of the Proposition 65 chemicals are contained in items common in residential buildings, such as automotive exhaust, building materials, fireplaces, tobacco smoke, and vinyl miniblinds manufactured before 1997. Violating businesses can be fined up to $2,500 per day per violation. CHIROPRACTOR TENANT TRASHES UPPER WESTSIDE MANHATTAN APARTMENT Manhattan publicist, Samantha Martin, apparently experienced a “worst tenant nightmare” incident when she rented her mother’s unit in the Upper Westside tri-plex apartment building that her mother owns to a New York doctor, Dr. Katie Novosel. Ms. Martin rented out the unit following her mother’s diagnosis with lupus and her mother’s move to the Upstate New York area where she is seeking refuge of “the calm and peace” that would allow her to get better. Ms. Martin claims that more than $250,000 in damages was done to the rental unit by Dr. Novosel within only “days” of receiving the keys. Dr. Novosel allegedly changed the locks, made holes in the walls, tore down wallpaper, threw out television sets or gave them away, and wrecked an electrical panel by installing an illegal hot tub in the unit. If that is not enough, she also apparently damaged or destroyed marble countertops, a lift system, and the patio furniture and patio canopy, and installed what has been described as a “massive” wall fountain and a LED fireplace that caught fire on two occasions, among other things. According to her Facebook profile, Dr. Novosel is a chiropractor and owner of the NYC Spine and Sports Institute. She holds a Doctor of Chiropractic and a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology from Cleveland Chiropractic College and has practiced as a chiropractor since 2004. Ms. Martin’s mother is currently seeking approximately $1 million in damages. Litigation is currently pending. Member Update The author, Jamie Sternberg, Esq., is a partner at Tirey & St. John LLP, full-service real estate law firm representing residential and commercial property owners and managers. He can be reached at (619) 744-0863 or jamie. sternberg@kts-law.com.Kimball . This article is for general information purposes only. Laws may have changed since this article was published.